Day 5 – May 24, 2025 – Rome, Italy

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Day 5 – May 24, 2025 – Rome, Italy

The only thing planned today is our Twilight Food Tasting Tour that starts at 4:40pm so we were in no hurry this morning. I worked on the blog and John did a little bit of work. We started packing up some stuff since our tour gets done around 9 pm and then we have the walk back afterwards. We have an Uber picking us up at 8:45 am tomorrow to take us to the train station.

We left the room around 1 pm and headed toward the Trastevere area where we would meet our guide for the tour. Our first stop was the Corsini Museum, which was part of our pass from the Barberini Museum tour we had. It is a small museum with only one floor but still has some nice artwork. Of course, the few Caravaggio’s they had were at the Barberini Museum for the exhibition.

We didn’t have a big breakfast, so we found a spot for a bite to eat. John had a mushroom pasta and I opted for a salumi selection along with some bread. We have no idea what to expect as far as food is concerned on this tour but after feeling yucky the day before from possibly eating too much, I decided to err on the safe side. We also enjoyed a glass of wine with the meal since we are in Rome, lol!

After lunch we strolled toward the meeting point and got there a few minutes early. Our guide was Ricardo, and he was very engaging. There was a couple from Edinburgh, Scotland, and a family from New Jersey and Virginia that were there with their four small children. We were a little worried that it might be an issue with that many small kids, but they were all very well behaved and seemed to have a blast considering it was a four-hour tour.

Our stops consisted of a small glass of prosecco with some bread and burrata, olive oil, and tomatoes. The next stop was at a pizza shop where we had flatbread and a beer. They have Peroni in a red bottle in Italy while the bottles are green in the US. The next stop was at a restaurant where we had a fried artichoke, which was really good and a glass of wine. We then headed to a little spot where we had fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and tomato sauce (LOVED THESE!) along with a beer sample. Next was a restaurant where we tried pasta amatriciana, which was prepared with bucatini and then some eggplant parmesan on the side. Everything tasted wonderful and I was glad I didn’t eat much at lunch as it was more food than I was expecting. Our last stop was for gelato, and I was very excited about this as I had yet to have any since we got to Italy. I got my favorite, pistachio, and John opted for the Venetian chocolate, which was recommended by Ricardo. We finished up about 9 pm and then headed back to the BNB to pack up a few more things before calling it a night.

We leave for Venice tomorrow morning taking the train and will get there around 1:30 pm. Our host in Venice has said we can check in early so that works out well. We had a great time Rome, now on to the next stop! Ciao!

This painting is “Jacob’s Dream” by Luca Giordano, a prominent Neapolitan Baroque painter active in the 17th century. It depicts the biblical story from Genesis 28, where Jacob dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending, symbolizing the connection between the divine and the earthly.
This is a portrait of Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, painted by Cristofano dell’Altissimo or possibly another Medici court artist in the late 16th century. He is depicted with the characteristic lace ruff and intense gaze typical of Florentine noble portraiture, reflecting the power and refinement of the Medici dynasty during the Renaissance. I absolutely love the detail of the lace ruff and his gaze!!!!!
This is a decorative neoclassical painted door panel, likely from an 18th-century Italian palazzo, featuring grotesque ornamentation.
The symmetrical design includes mythological medallions, stylized floral patterns, urns, birds, and masks, all framed in gold leaf, reflecting the revival of ancient Roman fresco styles popularized during the Renaissance and neoclassical periods.
The archway/door leading out of the Corsini museum.
This is the Church of San Salvatore in Onda, located on Via dei Pettinari in Rome, Italy.
The church, originally dating to the 12th century but rebuilt in the 19th century, is best known today as the home of the Pallottine order and as the burial site of Saint Vincent Pallotti, a Roman priest and founder of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate.
Our lunch stop at Ciak Ristorante
John’s fungi pasta
My sodium intake for the week, lol, but it was good with the bread!
The Tiber River
This is the Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano, our meeting spot for our tour.
Our first stop of the tour, forgot to take a picture of the burrata/olive oil/tomato plate.
The second stop of our tour where we had the flatbread/beer.
Ricardo, our guide, with three of the four kids on the tour. He was great with them. If I remember correctly the boy is Connor, the middle one is Olivia, and the taller one if Madeline.
You can’t get these in the states, too bad!
This restaurant has two books of wines they carry – one for white, one for red. I think Ricardo said over 1000 different bottles!
Bianca, through the glass, lol!
Our stop that included the fried mozzarella rice balls. The woman next to John, her and her husband are from Edinburgh, and of course the kids having a great time playing!
This is the restaurant we went to that stands on the ruins of the Theater of Pompey, which was the largest theater in ancient Rome.
This place has many sections where diners can eat.
The huge stone standing to the left is one of the original pillars from the theater.
Our last stop, gelato!
I could have eaten them both, but decided not to share with John 😉
Largo di Torre Argentina is a square that contains the remains of four ancient Roman Republican temples (from the 4th to 1st centuries BCE) and part of the Theatre of Pompey, where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE. It now is a cat sanctuary and if you look hard, you can see at least two black cats hanging out.
Another view of the square.

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